In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our weekly Architrivia.

Completed in 2007, the Nina Tower in Hong Kong exists today as a monument to personal tragedy and loss. The 'twin' 80- and 42-storey towers were built to symbolize the late Teddy and Nina Wang, as a tribute to the love once shared by one of China's wealthiest families. Kidnapped for ransom money in 1983, and again in 1990, the late Teddy Wang was declared legally dead in 1999. His widow Nina Wang would go on to become the richest woman in Asia, and the surviving Mrs. Wang soon began construction of what would ultimately become her final legacy project, as Nina Tower's completion coincided with the time of her own death by natural causes on April 8, 2007. 

Nina Tower, "Teddy" (left) and "Nina" (right), image by WiNG via Wikimedia Commons

Originally intended to be the tallest highrise in the world at a proposed height of 518 metres, the development's close proximity to the Chek Lap Kok Airport necessitated a considerable reduction in height down to 319 metres. Nina Wang proceeded with the current arrangement of the 'twin' towers at 80 and 42 storeys respectively.

"Teddy" and "Nina," connected in perpetuity by the Skybridge, image by Klijnw via Wikimedia Commons

While the tower was initiated as a tribute to her late husband, the project was additionally marred by stringent zoning codes, and culminated in a touching monument to the couple which has become a standout feature on the Hong Kong skyline. 

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